Canopy door



May 8, 1934. I I w. J. AUSTIN 1,957,990

CANOPY DOOR Filed Feb. 11, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 L [Hi I May8,1 934. Y. w.. 1. AUSTIN 1 951,990

CANOPY DOOR Filed Feb. 11, 1931 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 ,lirzven'fovy Patented May 8, 1934 This invention relates TES PATENT OFFICE 1,957,990 CANOPY DOOR Wilbert J. Austin,

Shaker Heights, Ohio, assignor to The Austin Company, East Cleveland, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application February 11, 1931, Serial No. 514,948 6 Claims. (01. 268-74) generally to buildings,

and moreparticularly to'the arrangement and operation of doors for closing building openings,

- such that the individual doors of a series of doors are independently operable be positively controlled which they may assum and closing movements,

and are adapted to in all of the positions e during their opening I and such that when the doors are in the open position'the building opening will be entirely clear and unobstructed by door guiding or stopping devices or the like. I

This application is filed as a continuation in part of my copending application, Serial No. 390,-

541, filed September 5, 19

A door construction of the type herein dis-- closed can be used to advantage. in many kinds of buildings and for many purposes,

as a hangar for airplanes type of building known but in that and other air craft, it is especially desirable to be able to provide with obstructed opening for dispatch a clear and unthe full width, or for a portion of the full width of the building, so as to freely accommodate the entry or exit of air craft at any desired point.

purposes doors, but also from the sirable, principally for and alignment of the Moreover, it is deof adjustment standpoint of installation and efficient operation,

that each door be in the self-contained unit.

It is, therefore, provide a building form of a complete and an object of this invention to having an opening which, be-

ing otherwise clear and unobstructed, is adapted to be closed by pendent vertical a plurality of doors, such doors upper edges for indemovement and adapt ed to be arrested in their closing movement by .means acting upon and in conjunction with the door actuating means whereby the doors can be brought into contiguous ly of any door guiding alignment independentor'stopping means that might obstruct or partially obstruct said opening. It is also an object of this invention to provide quicldy and smoothly operating closure means for a build'ng opening,

doors hinged adjacent their comprising a plurality of upper edges for in-' dependent swinging movement, and actuating mechanism for swinging the doors upon their hinges, such actuating mechanism constituting the sole agency through which the doors perform their opening and closing functions and affording positive control over the movements of the separate doors whereby brought into contiguo. opening independently o ments or the like.

they are adapted to be alignment to close the any door guides, abutsubstantially on line ,door construction is inecessarily in the form of 9.

Another object of this invention is to provide a building having a plurality of contiguous door units, adjustably supported by the building structure, whereby proper alignment and cooperation of the doors can be attained with facility and readiness.

Another ,object of this invention is to provide a novel form. of door unit. Another object of the invention is to provide novel and efiicient door operating mechanism.

Still another object of this invention is to pro-= vide novel and efficient door actuating mechanism embodying means which is adapted to positively hold or retain a door in any of the positions to which it is capable of being moved by that mechanism.

A further object of this invention is to pro.- vide a door unit comprising a mount having a; door structure pivoted thereon, and door actuating mechanism supported on said mount so as to partially counterbalance said door structure.

A further object of this invention is to provide operating mechanism for a door structure having a lever arm portion, in which relatively movable nut and screw members cooperate with said lever'arm portion to impart swinging movement to the door structure.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings,

Fig. 1 is. a partial vertical sectional view of a building having installed therein a door unit embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional plan view taken 2-2 of. Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a partial vertical section,

taken on .line 3-3 of Fig. 1, illustrating my door actuating mechanism. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a portion of my door actuating mechanism taken on line 4-4. of Fig. 3. v Y

. In the drawings, to which detailed reference will presently be made, I have shown buildings embodying my improved door-construction, and although in disclosingmy invention I have shown aircraft hangars and have made particular reference to buildings of, that kind, it should be understood that this is'for the'purpose of illustration, and that my door construction may be em- 'ployed in various other types of buildings.

As represented in the drawings, my improved preferably, although not unit, and as such can be installed in a building which is under construction or in a building which has been previously erected. This unit comprises essentially one or more supports or mounts 10, upon which the door structure 11 is pivoted, and upon which is supported mechanism 12 for actuating the door structure. In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings I have illustrated such a door unit-and the manner in which it is installed in a buildmg.

When the unitis installed in place, as seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the mounts 10 are supported at one end thereof by the end roof truss (or beam) 13 of the building, whichiorms the lintel or in other words the top of the door opening, and at their opposite ends are supported upon a beam 14 of the building structure which extends substantially parallel with the end roof truss 13, but at a slightly lower elevation than that portion of the end roof truss upon which the mounts 10 bear. When the door unit is supported upon the building structure in this manner, the pivotal connection between the door structure and the mounts 10 lies in or near the horizontal plane which passes through the lintel or top of the door opening, so that the door structure can be swung in the vertical plane by the actuating mechanism from the substantially vertical, closed position, indicated in full lines in Fig. 1, to the substantially horizontal, open position, indicated in dotted lines.

My door unit, as stated above, comprises one or more mounts 10, a door structure 11 and actuating mechanism 12 supported upon the mounts and operably connected with the door structure. The mounts 10 are substantially rectangularly shaped frames, preferably formed of structural members, such a channel irons or the like. As herein shown, each mount includes a pair of channel members arranged in spaced parallel re lation to form the side bars or elements 25. At their outer ends, or in other words, at their ends which are nearest the end roof truss 13, these side elements are secured to the under side of short channel sections 26 which are arranged, as shown in Fig. 1, to form overhanging arms which bear upon the lower edge portion of the end roof truss. Vertical plate members 27, which assist .in securing the sections 26 and the side elements 25 together, depend below the lower edges of the side elements, as shown in Fig. 1, to support the ends of the hinge pin 28 upon which the door structure swings. At the opposite or inner end of the side elements 25, plate members are provided which form supports for the door actuating mechanism. It should be made clear at this point that although I haveillustrated, and have just described mounts or frames which are suitable for the particular type of building and the particular door unit illustrated, it will be understood, of course, that the detail construction of these mounts will, in each case, be determined or modified by the design of the building and by the particular design of door unit to be applied thereto.

The door structure itself is provided with a pair of spaced hinge arms 30, which extend upwardly between the side bars -or elements 25 of the mounts 10; and are pivotally suspended upon the hinge pins 28 carried by the depending plates 27 of the supports. Door panels or facings 31 are secured to the arms 30 and, ifdesired, these facings may be provided with windows 32 so as to admit light to the building. It will thus be seen, from the arrangement shown in Figs. 1 and 2, that the doors of a. series are adapted to be swung ,to advance or travel through and is keyed to the hub of the gear.

swung in the vertical plane individually about their horizontal pivots formed provide door actuating mechanism which involves As indithe principle of the screw and nut. cated in Fig. 1 of the drawings the hinge arms 30 of the doors extend somewhat above the axes of the hinge pins 28, to provide spaced lever arms 33 for actuating the door units. A bracket 34 is secured to the upper end of each door arm to form a mounting for an operatingnut 35, which cooperates with a rotatable screw 36. Each of the swings upon the hinge pins 28. v

The screws 36 extend through the nuts 35 and are adapted to be rotated so as to cause the nuts along the same to vary the effective length of the screws and thereby swing the doors upon their pivots. For rotating the screws'to actuate the door in this manner, I provide a bevel gear 38 for each screw. These bevel gears are secured to the respective screws by providing each screw with a reduced portion 39 adjacent its lower end, which reduced portion extends This reduced portion also extends through and is journaled in a bearing member controlled at all times,

40. This bearing trunnions 41 which are journaled in suitable bearing brackets 42 supported upon the mounts 10, thus forming a swivel mounting or trunnion mounting which permits rotation of the screw and at the same time permits the screw to be about the axis of the pins 41 as a center. bears against the swivel bearing member 40 and prevents axial movement of the screw in one through the swivel bearing member, is engaged by the nut 44 to prevent axial movement of the screw in the opposite direction. A jamb nut 45 is preferably provided to retain the nut 44 in proper position, and if desired, a pin 46 may be employedto prevent accidental loosening of both nuts.

For driving the bevel the screws 36, I provide a transverse drive shaft the shaft with its axis in alignment with the axis of the pins 41 of the swivel bearing member 40. With this arrangement the screws 36 are operably connected together in such a way that when the shaft 47 is rotated the screws will be operated in unison and at the same speed of rotation, and at the same time that the screws are being rotated The hub of the bevel gear 38 they are capable of the swinging movement in the 9 vertical plane mentioned above.

Any suitable mechanism may be employed for rotating the shaft 47, but I prefer to use an electric motor 50, which is supported upon one of the mounts 10. This motor may be operably loo connected to the shaft 4'7 by means of the chain 51 which passes over the sprocket 52 of the motor and the sprocket 53 of the shaft 47. In the event that the source of electric power should fail, or for use in other emergencies, I provide the motor shaft .with an auxiliary sprocket 54, to which an endless chain may be applied for operating the doors by hand.

It should be made clear at this point, that although the cooperating nut and screw and 36 constitute a door lifting means which forms a part of my door actuating mechanism, these cooperating parts also constitute a looking or retaining means which is capable of securely holding the door structure inany of the positions to which it is capable of being moved. It will thus be seen that the nut and screw elements form a combined lifting and holding means which affords positive control for the door at all times. When these elements function as a lifting means, power may be supplied thereto by any suitable driving means, such as the apparatus disclosed herein.

are to function as a door locking or holding means they require no assistance from brakes or counterweights, but are of themselves capable of holding the door in any of its positions, not only against the action of gravity but also against the action of the wind or other forces.

To stop the motor and thus sto the swinging movement of the door when the latterreaches either of the limits-of its movement, I provide limit switch means which cooperate with a trip member 55 mounted upon the arm 33 adjacent the trunnion bracket'Bi. When the door approaches its closed position or, in other words, approaches the position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 1, the trip member engages a 56, which is preferably supported upon a portion of the mount 10, and when the door approaches the open position, or in other words, the position illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the trip arm engages a limit switch 5'7 supported upon one of the side elements 25. of the mount 10. These limit switches are so designed and arranged that when they are engaged by the trip arm 55'they open the motor circuit and thus limit the travel of the door in both directions. If desired, suitable adjustment may be provided for the trip arm so snubs any tendency for that properly timed operation of the limit switches, with respect to door travel, may be had.

Although-the opening or the motor circuit will of itself stop the door movement, however, I pre-.

fer to provide more positive control means for stoppingthe door movement by preventing the armature of the motor from coasting after the motor circuit has been opened by either of the limit switches, and for this purpose I. provide a suitable electric brake 58, which cooperates with the armature shaft of the motor. When the motor is energized to actuate the screws 36 the coil of the electric brake is energized, to thereby release the brake-and permit free rotation of the armature shaft. At substantially the same instant that the motor circuit is opened by one of the limit switches the current to the coil of the brake is cut off, thus permitting the brake to be set by the springs 59 thereof. The setting of the brake resists further movement of the armature shaft, and thus effectively checks or thedoors to continue to move after the energizing current to the motor has been cut off. The limit switches and braking arrangement which I' have described afford a When these elements limit switch positive doors which eliminates the need for any close attention on the part of the operator beyond observing that the path of movement of the doors is clear. This automatic stopping means for the doors insures their being brought to a stop in the correct position when the doors are closed, so that they will all be in proper contiguous alignment, thus eliminating the need for any form of stop or sill which would render the floor uneven and obstruct the door opening.

In describing the arrangement of door units as used to close the opening of an aircraft hangar, I have stated that the doors are arranged as a series of contiguous units without door guides, stops or the like. Since the with each other in closing the building opening, it is essential that they hang in proper alignment at all times, and to compensate for changes in the height of the door lintel, such as might result from settling of the structure, or as a result of repeated snow loads being imposed upon the roof of the structure, I provide for adjustment of the mounts 10. This adjustment is made by placing shims 60 (or jack-screws if desired) of suitable proportions at one or more-of the four corners of these mounts. the structure as shown by Fig. 2 that by placing shims under certain corners of the mounts 10 the axes of the hinge pins 28 can be inclined as desired, or can be raised orlowered relative to the ground. By shimming these supports in this manner it is possible to adjust the units so that all of the door structures thereof will hang in true alignment, and will properly cooperate with each other to efficiently close the building opening.

If a tight closure along the upper edges of the doors is desired, so as to prevent the entrance of rain, snow or cold air, each door may be provided with a laterally extending flange 61 which hooks over theedge of a plate 62 which is adjustably secured to the lower edge of the end roof truss 13. When the door is swung to the closed position the laterally extending flange hooks over the edge of this plate, as indicated in Fig. 1, to form an eflicient seal.

Likewise, an efficient seal may be provided between the bottom edges of the door structures and the floor of the building by employing a flexible 'flap or wiper 63, which depends from the lower edge of each door. This flap is preferably made of flexible sheet material, such as rubber, and when clamped in place along the lower edge of the door structure itengages the floor 64 of the building when the door nears its closed position and prevents the entry of rain, snow or cold air. The flexibility of this flap readily permits of any des'red adjustment of the door without in any way preventing the formation of an efficient seal along the floor of the building. This flap cooperates efficiently with a smooth floor'and eliminates the need for a door sill which would render the floor uneven and obstruct the door opening.

The principle of the nut and screw as embodied in my door actuating mechanism, permits the door to be moved to open and closed positions with the desiredjspeed, and at the same time affords positive control over. the movement or positioning of the door at all times. In other words. the cooperation between the nut and screw results in the doorbeing positively held or locked in whatever position it may happen to be when the current to the motor is interrupted, so that there is no danger of the door swinging shut under and automatic means for stopping the doors cooperate only It will be seen from to workmen. Morlover, the cooperation between the nut and screw insures smooth and substantially vibrationless operation of the doors, and insures their being securely and firmly held against vibration-or flutter even though the velocity and force of the wind may assume abnormal values.

Although my door structure does not require the use of a counter-weight, however, it will be seen from the arrangement of parts that the mounts 10 and the door actuating mechanism mounted thereon constitute a counter-weight for the door structure. That this is true will be readily observed in Fig. 1 of the drawings, wherein it is seen that when in the open position the door extends outwardly on one side of the axis of the hinge pins 28, while the supports 10 with the door actuating mechanism thereon extend inwardly in substantially the opposite direction from the axis of these hinge pins.

It will now be readily seen from the foregoing description that I have provided a novel arrangement in which a series of contiguous independently operable doors are adapted to beswung upwardly and outwardly to leave a clear and unobstructed opening for substantially the full width of the building, and to be swung downwardly and inwardly and automatically brought into, contiguous alignment to close the opening. Such opening and closing movements of the doors take place entirely independently of door guides, stops or like apparatus in the building opening which has been used extensively heretofore. Moreover, with-my arrangement of contiguous independently operable doors it is possible to open a portion of the building opening, at any desired point, when the airplane or other equipment to be taken in or out does not require an opening of the full width of the building. It will also be seen from the arrangement of structure described that the door units can be independently adjusted so that they will hang in proper alignment and when brought to a stop in their closing movement will be in contiguous alignment and thus cooperate with each other to form an efiicient closure for the building opening.

The provision of the nut and screw elements in my door actuating mechanisms permit the doors to be held in any of their possible positions with out danger of accidental closing with possible damage to apparatus or injury to workmen. It should also be noted that the cooperation between the nuts and screws afl'ords a means for locking the doors against unauthorized intrusion, and also affords a means for locking the doors against their being accidentally swung in the opening direction, as might sometimes result from wind pressure acting against the inner surfaces of the door structures.

Furthermore, it will be seen that in my improved construction and arrangement the limit switch means cooperating with the brake mechanism affords a positive control for limiting the movements of the doors in the open or closed directions, so that the doors will always be stopped automatically and at the proper time, and so that the operator will be relieved from any serious responsibility and from any duties to be performed in this connection.

By the arrangement of doors and actuating means which I have described in detail, I have been able to produce a practical and reliable sectionalized closure which may be opened in whole its own weight or the influence of the wind, and possibly causing damage to apparatus or injury or in selected parts, and which does not require the removal or operation of auxiliary apparatus in order to produce an unobstructed opening. Moreover, the closure units, while independently operable, do not require any cooperating parts between themselves in order to bring them into the necessary alignment with one another at closure.

Although in describing my improved door construction I have referred to the same as a unit, it should be understood, however, that the door structure and actuating mechanism which I have disclosed may be incorporated in a building dur-, ing the erection thereof, without the need of making the same as a separate unit. However, I

find that the construction of these doors as units permits them to be readily installed in previously erected buildings, and morevoer when constructed in the form of units the installation of my doors is made considerably easier, and it is possible to adjust the units relative to each other to compensate for deflections in the building and thus maintain the doors in proper relation at all times.

While I have illustrated and described the improved construction of my invention, it should be understood, however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the precise details and arrangements of parts illustrated and described, but regard my invention as including such changes and modifications as do not involve a departure from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a pivoted door structure having spaced lever arm portions, and means cooperating with said lever arm portions for swinging said door structure, said means comprising nut members trunnioned on said lever arm portions, screw members cooperating with said nut members, means forpreventing axial movement of said screw members including trunnioned bearing members in which said screw members are rotatable, a bevel gear on each of said screw members, a shaft, bevel pinions on said shaft cooperating with the bevel gears of said screw members, and means for driving said shaft.

2. In combination, a support, a door having a pivotal connection adjacent its upper edge with said support, and having a projecting arm extending above the axis of said connection, a nut trunnioned on said arm, a bearing trunnioned on said support in spaced relation to said connection, a shaft journalled in said hearing but held against endwise movement relative thereto, said trunnioned bearing being arranged to accommodate swinging of said shaft in a plane extending substantially at right angles to the axis of said connection and said shaft having threaded engagement with said nut, and means for rotating said shaft comprising a gear member mounted on the shaft adjacent said trunnioned bearing and a driving gear member cooperating with the first mentioned gear member and rotatably supported with its axis of rotation substantially coincident with the axis of bearing.

3. In combination, a support, a door having a pivotal connection adjacent its upper edge with said support and having a pair of spaced projecting arms extending above said connection, a nut trunnioned on each of the arms of said pair, a bearing trunnioned on said support in spaced relation to each of said arms, a shaft joumalled in each of said bearings but held against endwise the trunnion for said.

movement relative thereto, such shafts having threaded engagement respectively with the trunnioned nuts, and a transverse shaft intergeared with said threaded shafts whereby the latter may be rotated in unison.

4. Incombination, a support, a door having a pivotal connection adjacent its upper edge with said support and having a pair of spaced projecting arms extending above said connection, a nut trunnioned on each of the arms of said pair, a bearing trunnioned on said support in spaced relation to each of said arms, a shaft journalled in each of said bearings but held against endwise movement relative thereto, such shafts having.

threaded engagement respectively with the trunnioned nuts, a transverse shaft intergeared with said threaded shafts whereby the latter may be rotated in unison, and a motor having driving connection with said transverse shaft.

5. In combination, a support, a door having a pivotal connection adjacent its upper edge with said support and having a pair of spaced projecting arms extending above said connection, a nut trunnioned on each of the arms of said pair, a

bearing trurmioned on said support in spaced re- 6. In combination, a support, a door having a pivotal connection adjacent its upper edge with said support and having a pair of spaced projecting arms extending above said connection, a nut trunnioned on each of the arms of said pair, a bearing trunnioned on said support in spaced relation to each of said arms, a shaft journalled in each of said bearings but held against endwise movement relative thereto, such shafts having threaded engagementrespectively with the trunnioned nuts, a transverse shaft intergeared with said threaded shafts, a motor having driving connection with said transverse shaft, and control means for said motor including limit switches adapted to be actuated by said door.

WILBERT J. AUSTIN. 

